Feature Archives

Are you a Night Owl? 

In the morning . . . . 

1. I don't usually rely on an alarm clock or I wake and get out of bed as soon as the alarm rings. 
2. I hit the snooze button. I hit the snooze button. I hit the snooze button. Eventually, I drag myself out of bed.

At 9:30 in the evening . . . . 

1. I have been in bed for an hour. 
2. I am doing the laundry, vacuuming and baking bread.

The time of day that I am most alert and energetic is . . . . 

1. Early morning. 
2. Afternoon. 
3. Late evening.

If you are a night owl, your choices were probably obvious (b, b, c). If you are an early bird, your choices should also have been obvious (a,a, a)

But what if you're saying, "Well, sometimes, I do this and sometimes, I do that. It just depends." If you have chosen some early bird responses and some night owl responses, you may be an Intermediate. Intermediates may be more flexible with their schedules, sometimes adhering to early bird schedules and sometimes to night owl schedules as the need arises. They are, however, much more affected by the "post lunch dip," that very strong desire for sleep in the early afternoon.

Excerpted with permission from Birds of a Different Feather by Carolyn Schur.